"So she's all like, 'but I wanna save myself for marriage, and he's okay with that! Isn't he gorgeous? Isn't he perfect?' Perfect!" Nicky scoffed. "There's no way a teenage boy is okay with waiting till marriage. That's bullshit. He's just waiting for her to get drunk. And saving herself? Does she think that I don't count?"
An arched eyebrow is the only thing that indicates Alex is listening. Her head is still bent over a stack of papers in her lap as she sits cross legged, her phone balancing on her knee.
Nicky scowled at her own phone, an image of Lorna and her boyfriend staring back at her. Her stomach always exploded in butterflies when she saw Lorna's name pop up on her phone, but any mention of boyfriends turned the butterflies into bees.
She threw the phone down. "Fuck Christopher. He's an ass."
Alex fingers worked quickly as she rifled through the basket of baggies in front of her. She squinted at the powders, pills and various other things she offered for sale. The inventory that she once knew like the back of her hand blurred together. It pained her to say that she'd dropped the ball on her business; the one thing that allowed her some freedom, not to mention that it kept the lights on and put food on the table.
She'd been so busy with Piper that it had fallen by the wayside - and her customers were losing patience. Kids at school came to her because she was discreet, inconspicuous. Perhaps more importantly, she had no credibility. Even if she were to accuse any of them of using and abusing drugs, no-one would believe her over perfect prep kids. Alex didn't particularly care. It was a quid pro quo, and anything that led to loyal customers was a bonus to her.
Her phone vibrating enthusiastically on her knee was proof of that. Yet instead of the usual excitement bubbling up under her surface at the messages, her heart sank. Alex ran her finger over her eyebrow, rubbing at her temple. She could still vaguely hear Nicky complaining as she picked the phone up to reply.
"Are you even listening?" Nicky snapped.
Alex looked up from her phone, pinching the bridge of her nose.
She loved Nicky. She really did, she'd been happy to see her when the doorbell rang that afternoon, and usually she'd have been fine to listen Nicky rambling on about Lorna for hours. She'd rather that over Nicky going out and getting high to forget, slumped in an alleyway somewhere. But today, as the pressure piled on from every other aspect of her life, she found herself getting frazzled.
"Yes, Nicky," she said, her tone equally as biting. "I"ve been listening for the past fucking hour! Lorna's acting...exactly how she always acts?" she asked, her forehead creasing. "And you're what, surprised? It's what she does. Who said 'the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result?' again?"
"Einstein," Nicky replied, unable to miss the opportunity to be a smartass. "And you realize it's not just Lorna, right? It's straight girls in general." She leaned back, cocking one eyebrow self assuredly. "Just wait till Pipes goes back to Larry."
Alex's lips twisted into a pucker as she stared at Nicky. She chewed the inside of her cheek, and her voice wasn't as strong as she intended when she finally spoke. "That's not true."
The little wobble in Alex's voice snapped Nicky out of her bad mood. She heaved a loud sigh, lit up a cigarette, and took a long drag. Upon exhaling, she shook her head. "No," she said, blowing out the last bit of smoke. Her voice had lost its edge. "You're right. Piper's at least a three on the Kinsey scale."
Alex rolled her eyes, but a smile played on her lips. "Did she tell you that?"
"Yeah," Nicky said without hesitation. She rolled her own eyes, but in good nature. Piper was too peppy and too concerned about her image for Nicky's liking, but she knew herself and knew how to get under Nicky's skin. Conversations with her were never boring. Infuriating sometimes, yes, but Nicky never left them without a smirk curling her lips upwards.
Alex was amused, but her smile faded as she looked at the basket in her lap again. She hadn't filled a single order in a week. Nicky noticed, her eyes seeing right through Alex. Slowly, she sat up, her brow furrowing.
"What's up?" Nicky asked. "You've been staring at that thing for ages." Nicky's eyes flitted down to the basket. She rolled her cigarette between her fingers, blowing smoke upwards. "What I wouldn't do for a hit of...well, anything. Got any spares?" Her voice rose hopefully.
Alex's fingers curled around the basket. "No," she said tightly. She scraped her hair back, resting her glasses atop her head. "I don't even know what I've got."
"I can help," Nicky said eagerly. "I know exactly how you could pay me."
Alex placed the basket behind her. "Yeah, right," she scoffed. She chewed on her bottom lip. "But I know someone who'd love to."
Nicky leaned on her elbow. She stubbed out her cigarette and waved her hand. "Go on," Nicky said. "Go find Piper. Let her be your little drug mule. A fairytale ending if I ever did see one."
Alex grinned, shoving fistfuls of baggies into her backpack. "No hard feelings?" she asked, wrinkling her nose. She pulled Nicky up with her as she came to a stand.
"No hard feelings," Nicky confirmed.
"You know," Alex said, swinging the front door open and letting Nicky walk out first. She shrugged her backpack further up her shoulders. "One day you're gonna find someone you love. Someone you really love."
Nicky pressed her lips together. "Yeah, yeah," she said quietly. She jerked her head up, chin to the sky. "Shame she doesn't love me back," she muttered.
Alex's eyes softened and she regretted snapping earlier. Reaching out and giving Nicky a quick hug, she lingered for longer than she usually did, and Nicky didn't pull away until she did.
"Have fun, kid," Nicky managed. She forced a smile. "I think you've found that person already."
Alex laughed softly, a little huff from her nose the only noise. "Yeah," she said, nodding slowly. "I think so too."
Piper scowled at her reflection in the mirror. She ran her finger underneath one eye, sighing as the warpaint Lorna called makeup stubbornly stayed put on her skin. It hadn't budged when Piper had attacked her face with a makeup wipe when she'd returned home earlier that morning, and the shower she'd just stepped out of was clearly no match for it either.
There was a light knock on the door. "Piper?"
Piper turned, recognizing the accent that called softly for her. She wrapped the fluffy white towel tighter around herself, tucking it under her armpit to keep it in place. Easing the door open,she poked her head round the small gap she'd created between the door and the frame.
"Good morning, Miss Claudette."
Miss Claudette smiled back at Piper. "Morning," she returned, brushing her hair back. "I'm putting on a white wash. Do you have any?" she asked, holding her basket out expectantly.
To Piper, Miss Claudette always exuded confidence - something she encouraged Piper to instill in herself. They might have been worlds apart, but the older woman had watched Piper grow up. Despite their differences, she was proud of the young lady she was becoming.
"Mhm," Piper said, balling up the clothes she'd just taken off and absently throwing them into the basket.
"Everything okay?" Miss Claudette inquired, resting the basket lazily against her hip. She raised an eyebrow.
Piper shrugged. Ever since Alex had warned her off of Sylvie, she had wanted nothing more than to find out what really happened. Everyone else seemed to know, why couldn't she? It went round in a loop in her head. Maybe it wasn't just that. Maybe it was that Alex made her feel things that Larry never had - including jealousy. She'd felt more than secure with Larry, but maybe that was because Larry was simple, uncomplicated - and no-one else had been lurking in the shadows, because she'd been his first, and no-one would dare to try and take him away from her because she was Piper Chapman, don't ya know?
"I just don't feel like myself," she replied honestly enough, crossing her arms over herself. Her hair dripped behind her, a mess of wet rat tails. In front of anyone else, Piper might have felt self-conscious. But Miss Claudette had always been around - she felt like part of the house by now, sturdy and constant. She'd watched Piper blossom into a teenager, and she knew the trials and tribulations she was facing, even if they'd come from different backgrounds. Being a teenager was unpleasant at times for every culture and generation. No amount of privilege could pay off hormones.
Miss Claudette offered a sympathetic smile. "Mm, you don't look like yourself, either," she said, flicking a strand of Piper's hair. She chuckled. "Try some witch hazel for the makeup, hm? And why don't you go get yourself a blow dry?"
Piper shrugged again, unconvinced. "I don't know…"
"You used to go every week," Miss Claudette pointed out. "Things are changing around here. And I don't just mean Cal's voice." She gave Piper a pointed look. "So squeaky."
Piper finally let herself laugh. "It is," she readily agreed. "Maybe I will go for a blow dry. It might take my mind off of things." She beamed at Miss Claudette, but then frowned. "You've changed your tune, though. Miss Piper, don't you think that's a waste of your father's hard earned money?" she mimicked.
Miss Claudette smiled. "You got me," she said. "A friend of a friend just opened up a hair salon around here. It would be nice if she got some customers that don't try to pay in food stamps."
Piper held back a sigh. She had seen the new hair salon that had just opened, and she doubted she would have ever stepped in there of her own accord. It was brand new, but the appliances were older than her usual salon. The stylist would definitely not offer her a green tea and a cookie there, she knew that much. But she hated disappointing Miss Claudette. Something about that stare just cut through her.
"Fine," Piper said after a beat. "But if I come back with hair big enough to go to an eighties tribute party, you'll be brushing it out for me."
Miss Claudette rolled her eyes, like she hadn't spent half of Piper's childhood giving into requests to brush her hair. She wanted a hundred brush strokes before bed (just like a princess, Miss Claudette!) and her mother would never give into the begging. Never having had children of her own, it was somewhat of a novelty. And the way the little girl would beam up at her, her golden hair fanned out on the pillow afterwards, made it all worth it.
Miss Claudette nodded agreeably. "I liked the hair in the eighties," she said simply. "It distracted from the clothes."
Piper laughed. "Good luck with the washing, Miss Claudette."
Miss Claudette smiled. "Tell Sophia I said hi, won't you?"
"I will."
Piper sighed as she pushed open the salon door. It was on the entirely wrong side of town for her liking, some guy had catcalled her from a van, and as she peered through the glass, she was pretty sure she could see an argument ensuing. Unease spread from her mind to her body as her hand hovered on the door, and she debated turning back round again.
The decision was taken out of her hands as the door was yanked open from the other side, and she was met by a tall woman who beamed down at her with a huge smile.
"Come in, come in!" she said, sweeping to the side to let Piper past. She reached out and coiled some of Piper's hair around her finger. "It's not often girls like you come in," she remarked.
Piper offered a weak smile. "Miss Claudette said hi," came her response, as she was seated on a creaking salon chair. She shifted to get comfortable.
"Oh," she said, waving a comb behind her head. Piper watched her in the mirror. "You're Piper. So, what are you thinking of? A drastic change?" she asked hopefully. "Maybe a pixie? You have great bone structure."
"Mm," she said, running her fingers through her still damp hair. She glanced up to meet Sophia's eye in the mirror, avoiding her own reflection. "I just want a blow dry to be honest with you."
"Aw. You're no fun," she lamented. But as she plugged in her hairdryer, she raised her eyebrows. "Have you at least got some gossip to share? I hear all the juicy stuff in here."
"No," Piper glowered. She ripped off a hangnail before continuing, "I'm always the last to know everything anyways. It would be last year's gossip."
"I'm sensing a sore spot," Sophia said, flipping her own perfect hair behind her shoulders. One hand on her hip, she pursed her lips. "Am I right?"
Piper slumped in her chair. She was missing her regular stylist already; he asked her where she was vacationing this year, not why she was pissed off. She shrugged. "Maybe."
"A boyfriend?" Sophia asked, raising her eyebrows. She ran a brush through Piper's hair absently, forgetting to actually start the hairdryer.
"Something like that." Piper shrugged. Then, feeling bold, she sat up. These women would never see her again after today, and Miss Claudette hated gossip. Whatever she vented about here would live and die inside these walls. "Their ex, actually...she's just coming back to town, and I heard Sylvie can be a real…" she paused, trying to find a diplomatic way of putting it. She tipped her head. "Interesting person to be around."
A woman with brown hair cropped to her tattooed neck suddenly turned around in her chair, slamming the outdated fashion magazine on her lap closed. Spanish swear words littered the air as she did so.
"Sylvie Wilkerson?" she repeated, her voice peppered by a light accent.
Piper stared at her, then nodded uncertainly. She turned round in her own chair to face the mystery woman, who looked more than angry as her eyes bulged.
"That crazy bitch is out of juvie?" she demanded. "Fucking hell. I bet Lourdes knew about this. Six months is all she gets?"
Piper nodded again, sizing the woman up. Her nostrils were flared in anger and the magazine was now curled into a baton in her clenched fist, but she had smiled at her when she'd walked in.
"You know her?" she asked, trying to sound nonchalant. She peeked another look at the woman, whose jaw worked hard as she ground her teeth.
"You could say so," she said tightly. "I'm Gloria. You should know, they put my face in every fucking paper. We didn't get to talking or nothing. Didn't really get the chance when she put the gun to my fucking head as she held up my bodega."
Piper spluttered, sending a silent thank you that she hadn't been offered a tea and a cookie, because she would have choked on them.
"She held a gun to your head?" Piper echoed. The thought was unfathomable to her; she wouldn't even know where to get a gun, let alone to have the guts to use it.
"Scared my kids to fucking death," she seethed. "They've been having nightmares for months since then. And she's out? Ha! I got a longer sentence than that with them hangin' off my legs. I can't even have a smoke without one of 'em."
"She said she wasn't dangerous…" Piper murmured.
"Dangerous?" Gloria repeated, taking a drag from her cigarette. Her cheeks looked hollow as she sucked in, clearly needing the release. She let out a breath with a cloud of smoke. "Let me tell you what happened from the start…"
Later that evening, Piper bounded down the stairs, half expecting it to be the pizza she ordered ten minutes ago. She wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed with a greasy meal, and try to forget everything she'd heard earlier that afternoon in the salon. She smiled to herself as she grabbed the handle.
When she opened the door to Alex, the smile slipped. "Oh," Piper said, letting her arms drop by her side. "It's you."
Alex's brow furrowed, and the smile fell from her features too. "You could sound less excited to see me, Pipes...dial down the happiness."
"Sorry," she said, not particularly sounding it, "I was expecting a pizza."
Alex brightened. "Enough for two?"
Piper nodded. "Sure," she said. She stepped aside to let Alex in, and the brunette closed the door behind her.
"Last night was fun," she said, spinning around to face Piper. She was grinning again, excited to let Piper into a little more of her world.
Piper nodded again, leaning against the stairs. She didn't mean to, but the betrayal was rising in her chest. If Alex couldn't trust her with this, then what was the point? "Mhm," she said finally.
"Is something wrong?" Alex asked, after Piper said nothing else. She reached out, rubbing her hand down Piper's arm. The blonde softened into her touch, though she looked reluctant, and pressed her lips together. "I thought it went well."
Piper answered with a shrug, but laced her fingers with Alex's. She played with her fingers and shrugged again, murmuring a little.
"Lorna likes you," Alex tried. "She thinks you're sweet. Maybe it'll rub off on Nicky," she laughed. She omitted that Nicky and Lorna were going through somewhat of a rough patch. Nicky would have killed her for saying anything, and Piper wouldn't have been able to resist trying to make things better. Her intentions were always good but it rarely worked in her favor. It definitely wouldn't with Nicky.
Piper let herself smile. Lorna was nice, and anyone who could silence Nicky with a single look was basically superhuman in her books. "I like Lorna too," she said. She rubbed at her eyes. "I don't like her makeup, though."
"No," Alex agreed. "I've seen her use a Sharpie as eyeliner, though. She's tough." Alex laughed, but it tailed away when Piper still looked distant. Alex bit her lip. "Are you sure everything's okay?"
"Actually, no," Piper said. She chewed her lip for a moment before plopping down onto the bottom stair. She patted the space next to her, and when Alex craned her neck to look down the hallway, she did it again. "No-one's home," she said. "Everyone went out for dinner. Mom wanted me to come too, but I told Dad I was feeling sick."
Alex sat down next to her, gingerly holding her hand. "And are you?" she asked, scrunching her nose up to push her glasses further up.
"A bit," she admitted. She rested her chin on her knees, pulling them up to her stomach. "It's Sylvie," she said, and then she sighed at Alex's expression. "I know, I know. It's just...you know all about Larry," she explained. "I don't know anything and you won't tell me anything."
"Well, we weren't good for each other," Alex said guardedly. She wrapped her arms around herself, engulfing herself in a hug. She stared at her feet on the step. "I didn't want to tell you about all of our fights and make you think that was me." A blush swept her cheeks. "There were a lot of fights," she murmured. "But that's all. She's just bitter that I left her, you know?"
Alex looked to the ceiling, hoping Piper's curiosity was satisfied. She took her backpack off, finished with the conversation about Sylvie and feeling relieved about it, and showed the contents to Piper. "Now, can I tell you what I came over for?" she asked, her voice rising hopefully. "I know you wanted to be more involved with the business, and I want you to be as well."
Piper sucked a breath in. It was what she had wanted for what felt like the longest time, yet had only really been a few weeks - for Alex to trust her. Yet trust only seemed to be on Alex's terms, and Piper couldn't help but feel the sting. Piper focused on a small pock on the wall. Cal had probably hit it with a ball at some point, before Miss Claudette or her mom had chased him out.
Alex reached out for Piper's hand, but she pushed it away. She wouldn't even look at her. What Alex couldn't see was the tears brimming in Piper's blue eyes as she turned away.
Alex heaved a sigh, her anger rising. The heat rose in her cheeks as she glared. "I told you what you wanted to know, Piper, what more do you want?"
"You forgot to mention she almost shot you!"
Piper span round, the curls she had just paid a lot of money for losing their volume already. She raised her eyebrows as she came face to face with Alex, her hands placed on her hips.
Alex pressed her lips together, rocking on her heels. She blinked at Piper, wondering how she had worked it out. As a minor, her name had been blocked out of any reports of the case. Everyone who knew the ins and outs had been warned not to tell Piper, and Alex was wondering who had squealed.
She huffed, pissed off that she even had to deal with this. When it doubt, she had a tendency to double down. "Well," she said, flipping her hair indignantly. "You never asked."
A/N:
Hey guys!
Inspired a little by the trailer, I wanted to finish this chapter...what did you guys think?
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It's a little longer than usual...let me know if you prefer this length or the shorter ones. Please let me know what you thought of the chapter - not many of you did last chapter and I'm hoping that was because you were busy rather than you not liking it. Lol. Thanks to those who did, though! It's much appreciated.
Anyways, hope you're all good.
- Star xo
